I was surfing the web here at work and went to gallup.com to look at some polls. They said that football is the preferred sport to watch in America. I don't argue with that finding at all, but I clicked to read the story and they have a table that shows the last 10 years polls data. 21% of people favored watching baseball to any other sport in August 1994. Thanks to our beloved chairman, that number is at an alltime low of 10% currently. It's sad. Baseball is the perfect game and it pains me to see its popularity diminish so quickly. Here is a link to the story
http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr040130.asp

Football % Basketball% Baseball%
2003 37 14 10
Dec

2002 37 13 12
Dec

2001 28 16 12
Mar

2000 33 16 13
Mar

1998 36 12 16
Nov

1997 30 17 14
Apr

1995 32 15 16
Apr

1994 37 13 16
Sep

1994 35 11 21
Aug

Daver

02-01-2004, 01:01 PM

I would have liked for them to throw Auto Racing into that breakdown,it has the largest veiwership in the country.

hose

02-01-2004, 01:12 PM

Originally posted by Daver
I would have liked for them to throw Auto Racing into that breakdown,it has the largest veiwership in the country.

The chart has figure skating ahead of auto racing.

CubKilla

02-01-2004, 01:31 PM

Thank God baseball is gaining popularity back from basketball. I must be the only person alive that doesn't give two ***** about basketball.

Deadguy

02-01-2004, 01:36 PM

MLB is essentially number 2 behind the NFL. The Nielson Ratings for the Major League Playoffs this past season were the best they've been in quite some time, while the ratings for the NBA Finals were in the sinlge digits.

Not that Nielson Ratings for Post Season are the only measure of popularity for a sport, but baseball has a Monopoly over the Sports world in the Summer, while basketball has to compte with the NFL, NHL, college basketball, and college football.

Paulwny

02-01-2004, 01:41 PM

Originally posted by CubKilla
Thank God baseball is gaining popularity back from basketball. I must be the only person alive that doesn't give two ***** about basketball.

No, there are at least 2 of us.

white sox bill

02-01-2004, 04:35 PM

Originally posted by Paulwny
No, there are at least 2 of us.

Make that at least 3 of us...

Hockey is taking a hit now with some teams (Like Buffalo) who are bankrupt, and the Kobe thing has hurt Basketball too.

beckett21

02-01-2004, 05:00 PM

Originally posted by white sox bill
Make that at least 3 of us...

If the NBA were to cease operations tomorrow, the world would be a MUCH better place. :)

StepsInSC

02-01-2004, 05:13 PM

Originally posted by beckett21
If the NBA were to cease operations tomorrow, the world would be a MUCH better place. :)

Yup ya'll arn't alone. The NBA is a spectacle, not a sport it seems like.

SoxFan76

02-01-2004, 07:42 PM

Basketball is SOOO boring. I will never understand how a person who likes basketball can tell me with a straight face that baseball is boring.

Frankly, football is the number 1 sport in America. It's sad, but I feel this is a fad, and eventually baseball will be up there in popularity again. But I was actually just thinking about this the other day.

The Super Bowl is hands down the biggest sporting event of the year. It helps that it's only one game as opposed to 4-7 games. But then I thought that the NFL championship isn't anywhere near the prestige of a World Series Championship. The Super Bowl is more about the commercials and partying (which is fine) than the actual game. I mean think about it, there is so much history behind baseball, the World Series championship is larger than life. Super Bowl champions usually do nothing the next year (Tampa, and even Oakland, although they didn't win). The games in general seem to live longer than the actual winners. Maybe I am the only one who sees this. Football has teams of the decade, baseball has teams of the century. (Cowboys, Steelers, Packers, ect./Yankees)

Hey, that's how I see it. Please don't be afraid to disagree. (and I know you all aren't afraid of a little argument!)

OneDog

02-01-2004, 08:38 PM

Originally posted by white sox bill
Make that at least 3 of us...

...4 of us. I go to Indiana and I have not even seen a game in Assembly Hall because I hate basketball so much.

OEO Magglio

02-01-2004, 08:47 PM

Originally posted by OneDog
...4 of us. I go to Indiana and I have not even seen a game in Assembly Hall because I hate basketball so much.
I love basketball, but I hate the NBA, the best and only basketball to watch is the college game.

TornLabrum

02-01-2004, 09:40 PM

Originally posted by OEO Magglio
I love basketball, but I hate the NBA, the best and only basketball to watch is the college game.

Since the NBA has been taking players away from the colleges before they graduate, or before they even matriculate, the college game has suffered, at least at the highest level.

SoxFan76

02-01-2004, 10:42 PM

And lets face it, NBA is not targeted towards the white demographic. Which is fine, since everything else in this country is aimed towards the whites.

ondafarm

02-01-2004, 10:49 PM

Chairman Reinsdorf and his stable boy Bud Selig deserve much of the blame for this. They've given the Yankees free tickets to the Series most years, fixed a Mets-Yanks Series (who cares about it accept New Yorkers) and completely blown leveling the table. They treated most fans like suckers and claim they are doing wonderful for the sport.

SoxFan76

02-01-2004, 10:58 PM

Would a free-agent/salary cap situation be better for baseball? I don't really think it would. In fact, I think it would ruin the sport even more. I know the Yankees have always won since the begining of time, but they don't win every year. And baseball would never have the Cal Ripkens, the Tony Gwynns, the Frank Thomas'. Everyone would spend 2 years with a club and leave. Although if adding these things would win the Sox a few world championships, then so be it.

hose

02-01-2004, 10:59 PM

Originally posted by SoxFan76
And lets face it, NBA is not targeted towards the white demographic. Which is fine, since everything else in this country is aimed towards the whites.

You are wrong, everything is aimed towards the greens.....money , money, money